Ex-Wife

Besides the pounding misogyny, the most salient aspect is the forced disproportionate gravity of literal adolescent relationships when you marry the first person you want to ‘bun’. Negging and body commentary is standard on all fronts. Surprisingly not full-on racist, just a bit escaped. Feminist is a slur. Soap opera turns. The correspondence between the protagonist and her great love in her supposed mature phase at 27 is unflattering. I appreciated the supportive friendships and the confronting of wearying subjects that endure, lack of safe access to abortion, the debts that are considered owed for male attention. One of her closest friends, her asexual future husband who inherits millions, explains her appeal to him: “I don’t think about you as female. You’re decorative, like a well-bred young collie pup… and besides you laugh at things and like to look at pictures.” It’s a record of a side of New York in 1929.

I don’t remember how this book arrived in my pile but it was a great read! I’m surprised because it’s quite old now but stays still so relevant about many parts especially the impact of divorce on one’s life’s.

Its depiction of New York of the 20s is bright and filled with a lot of alcohol consumption, but each character is really rich and you get deeply attached to Patricia and the way she handles her life.

Man, I love everything about this book.

There's a line in Parrott's son's afterword that I misread - well not misread, but mistook what he meant - that people drink in Ex-Wife. He meant literally (there's so much drinking), but I mean it in that I just drank this in. It reads so easy and is so real. I loved watching Pat grow over the course of the book. Her loves and losses are just so well done.

Pat's story (and apparently a lot of Ursula's) reminded me of bits of Our Spoons Came From Woolworths, but then it turns into something else. It's like The Best of Everything in the nightlife and friendships. Add in some of the feel of Gatsby.

I figured I'd like this since it ticks off so many of my boxes, but man did I love it. And maybe I'm just in an emotional state, but the second to last chapter had me tearing up. It's all so good.